Day 2750 - How to make exercise a priority

Day 2750 - How to make exercise a priority

Aging Positively exercise fitness health wellness Wednesday

Tip: Put exercise on your to-do list.

If you're anything like me, then you're extremely busy trying to balance work, family, house, life.  I'm a big believer in to-do lists and I can tell you right now, if exercise is not on my list, then it's likely it won't get done.

Exercise doesn't come naturally for all of us.  For some of us it's a chore (yes, that includes me).

So in order to make it a priority I simply treat it like the rest of my to-dos.  I put it on my list and then it gets done.  If you want to take it one step further you can even schedule it in the diary for a specific time in the day.

It really works.

Check! 

Day 2748 - The World Masters Games

Day 2748 - The World Masters Games

Aging Positively fitness health inspiration motivation

Olympics for old people

This week the Hubster is in Auckland playing basketball at the World Masters Games.  At last check they'd won their first two games convincingly and are hoping to at least get a medal in their 50-55 age group.



The World Masters is governed by the international Masters Games Association and is open to sports people of all abilities and many age groups.  The minimum age for some sports is as low as 25, with most sports being around 35.

The top story today is that a 101 year old woman just won a sprinting gold medal.

While most 100m sprints are completed in around 10-11 seconds, the very inspiring Man Kaur did hers in around 1 minute 15 seconds.

She may have been the only person in her category (she ran alongside the much younger 85-89 year olds) and technically she may not have been sprinting, but that doesn't take away from the fact that she actually stepped up and took gold.



This isn't her only sport either. She'll also be competing in the 200 metres, shot put and javelin later this week.

Even more inspiring is the fact that she only started her track and field career 7 years ago at the age of 94. She trains with her son who is also competing at the games.  He competed in his own 100 metre sprint in the 75-79 year age category.

So with that said I'd like to say that it's never to late to start! Whether it be a sport, project, career, hobby or fitness campaign, every day gives us the chance to create a fresh start.

Thanks for the inspiration Man Kaur.

Three cheers for all the athletes competing at the World Masters games.

Three cheers for my clever hubby who top scored at his game yesterday.

And three cheers for Man Kaur who has inspired me to get off my bum and shuffle down the road for at least 100 metres.  

Day 2746 - Are wraps any better than bread for weightloss?

Day 2746 - Are wraps any better than bread for weightloss?

Aging Positively fitness food health

Bread versus wraps - How do they stack up?

If you follow me daily then you'll know that I'm on a bit of a health and wellness mission.  I'm trying to get back to honouring my Fit and Fabulous tagline.

This mission includes weight loss because the truth is I've stacked on the kilos over the last six months and as I creep towards menopause I know it's going to be bloody hard to lose it if I don't get onto it now.

Anyway ...



I know for a fact that bread does me no favours.  It's the one food that instantly pads my stomach, butt and thighs. It also slows me down.

I also know for a fact that bread seems to be my comfort food. It's something I crave when I'm feeling pain (fibro) and migraine.  Which is happening fairly regularly right now (making the aforementioned fit and fabulous tag difficult).

So in order to reach a middle ground (for now) I tend to switch the bread for wraps.

But that got me wondering, is there any difference?

How do wraps stack up against bread?

So I did some quick research

Note: I am not a dietitian nor nutritionist (not even a foodie). This is all just my own uneducated thoughts taken from my reading.


According to my research, two slices of wholemeal bread contain around 760 kj (which is about 180 calories) compared to a wholemeal tortilla style wrap which is around 380 kj (about 92 calories).

Two thin slices of white bread contain around 755kj (about 180 calories) and two thick slices contain about 840kj (about 200 calories). Compared to a white wrap which is 422kj (about 101 calories).


So there you have it.  That's the deal with bread versus wraps.  If you don't want to ditch the carbs completely, making the switch from a thick white bread sandwich to a wholemeal wrap could save you 460kj which is around 110 calories.

Which is fine by me because I LOVE wraps and more than anything I like toasted wraps.  I'm thinking I might even start a blog series on wrap recipes.


Does bread make you gain weight?

Any other wrap lovers our there?

What's your favourite wrap?


Information source:  www.fatsecret.com.au/calories-nutrition; www.caltorieking.com; www.weightlossresources.co.uk. 

Day 2743 - Wellness Wednesday

Day 2743 - Wellness Wednesday

Aging Positively Easter fitness health wellness Wednesday

How's your health and fitness going?

Put your hand up if you ate too much chocolate on the weekend.

Put your hand up if you drank too much champagne.

Put your hand up if you're now feeling like you need to run a marathon to deal with the consequences.



The good news is today is a brand new day with a blank sheet of paper in which we can write a new story.

Who's with me?


I did do one thing that was somewhat healthy and fit on the weekend - I climbed a hill.  Not sure if it was enough to ditch the chocolate and the huge Easter lunch, but my calves are definitely feeling the benefits.  They're reminding me of it every time I stand up.

Walking up Rocky Hill, Goulburn, NSW

Dare Devil Dogs enjoying the view from the top

The War Memorial at the top of Rocky Hill, Goulburn

Happy Wellness Wednesday!

Hope you are well.  

Day 2739 - Breaking News for fibromyalgia sufferers

Day 2739 - Breaking News for fibromyalgia sufferers

fibromyalgia fitness health

Apparently my pain may be coming from the blood vessels in my feet!

As you are aware I have fibromyalgia.  That means I have pain through my body, I get brain fog, I have irritable everything and for a long time I suffered chronic fatigue.

I went into a lot of detail about it in this post.


Although Fibromyalgia may have been around  since the early 1820’s (called muscular rheumatism at that time), the syndrome was officially recognised in 1990 by the American College of Rheumatology. 

For a long time it has been thought that fibromyalgia was serotonin or neurophysiologically based. That it was closely related to depression and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Then there were thoughts about its relationship to arthritis.  I've also read about its link to the central nervous system.

There are people and doctors that think fibromyalgia is all in the patient's head.  That their symptoms are signs of aging and that they must simply have low pain thresholds.

Even I have questioned my diagnosis and keep trying to find answers elsewhere.  I've been tested and retested for MS, and as recently as last year I had whole body scans in case I was actually riddled with arthritis or bone cancer.

The weather has an impact on fibromyalgia. I've known for a long time that the cold weather does me no favours.  The pain increases in winter and on low pressure system days (cloudy and rain) I can be so deep in the fibro fog that I dare not drive because I feel completely dazed.

Something I've also noticed in more recent years is that my feet have become very sensitive. Something as small as dropping a pen on my foot will have me dancing in distress.   Kicking the shopping trolley in open toed shoes renders me immobile in mouth gaping horror. Even having the dog stand on my foot in his "is it dinner time?" excitement causes me to wince.

The foot thing had me thinking that it must also be another symptom of fibro.  So when I came across this article with research suggesting the secret to fibro may be found in the blood vessels in our hands, feet and legs, it all made total sense!

Click article to read more

A few years ago researchers announced they'd examined skin on the hands of fibromyalgia sufferers and compared it against the skin of a person who lacked sensory nerve fibres.  They were surprised to find that fibro patients have an extremely excessive amount of arteriole-venule (AV).

It was previously believed that the AV shunts were only responsible for regulating blood flow but they've since discovered that these nerves are linked to the widespread body pain that fibromyalgia sufferers experience.

According to Neuroscientist, Dr Frank L Rice, "This mismanaged blood flow could be the source of muscular pain and achiness, and the sense of fatigue ..."

So while there is no cure yet, these findings have the potential to assist with treatment and the quest for a cure.

I'll be keeping my overly sensitive fingers and toes crossed!




Information sources:  www.ushealthylife.com; www.chronicpainreliefoptions.com; www.naturalhealingmagazine.com; www.guardianlv.com 

Day 2738 - How to save calories with your fish and chips

Day 2738 - How to save calories with your fish and chips

Easter fitness food health

Are you having fish for your Good Friday?

For those Catholics out there, today's the day we ditch the red meat.  Given we're at the coast, it makes it easy for us to grab some fish n chips wrapped in paper to eat on the beach.

I'm very much looking forward to it, but what does that do for my overall weight loss goals?

Let's take a look shall we.



According to nutritionist Amanda Ursell (Woman's Day Magazine, April 3 2017), the chips alone can have an incredible 4000 kj per serving.  That's close to a thousand calories!

When it comes to the battered deep fried fish, she suggests that the batter alone has 1067 kj which equates to around 255 calories.

So with that in mind on this Good Friday, if you're keeping an eye on your figure and have the resources available to you, then it might be better to bake your own fish and chips.

Scrap the batter on the fish completely and cut up your own potatoes, spray with a little oil and bake them instead.  According to Amanda, oven chips come in at around 820 kj per 100grams (196 calories).

Hmmm.

This does not help my vision of take away fish n chips on the beach.  But perhaps if I ditch the chips, grab a salad and remove the batter I'll be doing OK.

Let's not take bets on whether or not I'll actually stick to that.

Do you eat fish on Good Friday?

Are you a fan of fish n chips?

What's your best fish n chips tip? 




Note: I am not a nutritionist nor am I a foodie. Nor have I thoroughly researched this other than a quick read of a magazine and a wander around Google. Always do your own research when it comes to your health and fitness.   

Day 2736 - Wellness Wednesday - the challenges of being on holidays.

Day 2736 - Wellness Wednesday - the challenges of being on holidays.

Aging Positively fitness health wellness Wednesday

Why do holidays contain so much bread?

It's that time of the week,  Time to check in and brag about the wins and admit to the defeats of the Wellness Week.



We're on holidays!  So let me firstly brag about that.

Wandering along the board walk at Narooma

Paddling around the rock pools and in the shallows at Tomakin 

Now let's get into the nitty gritty of this post.

Exercise
As far as exercise is concerned for the past week, I can safely say I didn't do well.  One of my volunteer roles has had me strapped to the keyboard which has meant the dawn exercise has suffered.While there has been a bit of incidental exercise, the 5km morning walks have gone by the wayside mainly because of the extra screen time I've had at 5.00am.

Of course I can't blame the volunteer work.  I could have made it happen if I'd really wanted to.  I just used the "lack of time" excuse because sometimes that's easier than pushing myself that little bit further.

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

Food
My food choices have not been as bad as they could have been.  Holidays do tend to bring with them more meals with bread (which I'm feeling very attracted to right now), but so far I have managed to avoid the fish and chips, pizza and hamburgers.

Holidays also seem to bring daily doses of champagne.  Which feels incredibly fabulous but may not be doing my body any justice.

Salads are still high on the menu, as are all the clean green foods without packaging.

Sugar is starting to creep back in via baked goods that magically appeared in our holiday house.

Mindset
You can't beat a holiday mindset.  While I'm still at my screen during periods throughout the day keeping things ticking over, I'm managing to get plenty of time to read my book, hang with the fam and wander along the beach.

I think the best part about holidays (whether you take your work with you or not) is that when you're away from your home you can cleanse from the worries of household management, the kids schooling and the general day-to-day chores.   A few layers are removed that help you feel lighter.

I can safely say I feel lighter this week, even if the bread and baked goods won't reflect that on the scales when I return to the real world.

How's your wellness this week?

Anyone else on holidays?

What one food brings you undone when you're on holidays?